Murdoch’s Gila Liga – in a league of its own

By Jannah Lam The Murdoch Malaysian Association (MMA) was the winner of a combined sporting tournament held by four of Murdoch University’s clubs at the weekend – but that was not the main goal. The enthusiasm and passion of each club’s members led to Gila Liga being a big success for MMA, The Singapore Link – Mur.Lions (TSL) and Murdoch Thai Association (MTA). “This semester, we have more organisers such as Radio Murdoch and Murdoch Thai Association and each of them brought their own ideas to the planning of this event,” said Farah Jaffar, president of TSL. Looking at the diversity of the people and the enthusiasm that each team put in, this sports event is aptly named with Gila having a double meaning of ‘sports’ in Thai and ‘crazy’ in Malay while Liga means ‘league’ in Malay. The organisers held this event at the Murdoch University Outdoor Gym to bring different student populations together in the spirit of healthy competition. The event drew students from different ethnic backgrounds to compete against each other for the sports league championship trophy. “I’m proud of my members for playing their hearts out, but the fact that they made friends with each other and other associations is more important than winning,” said Fara Nabiha Ruslizan, president of MMA. The organisers also hoped that Gila Liga would pave the way for the successive student leaders from the different associations to work together in the future. Many students enjoyed the friendly games and are looking forward to the next event collaboration. “I hope that they will have more events like this next time,” said Jovi Oh, a participant from MMA. “I like these kind of events because it is a good chance to meet new friends with different cultures and backgrounds,” he said.